Speaker 1: Let's talk about marketing. But not just any kind of marketing, let's talk about relationship marketing. You know, I think we'll all agree that the world in which we live has changed dramatically, fundamentally since the 1960s when the principles of modern mass marketing were first introduced. Today, the internet, social media, smartphones, and digital technology in general have transformed the world in which we live, in which we work, and particularly how we communicate. Today, brands have access to countless new channels and platforms and tools and technology to better engage with their customers. But I believe that they often use them in ways that are perhaps best suited to the 1960s. For example, they still tell us how great their products are and why we should buy them. They still tell us how awesome their brands are and why we should follow them. They still say, buy now, don't delay, have your credit card ready when you call. The problem is, you know, essentially, we just don't listen. In this cluttered and crazy connected marketplace, we're too distracted by our daily lives to pay attention to what brands want us to do. At the end of the day, we just don't care. So if you're a brand, what do you do? Well, I believe that in this crazy, distracted, messy, fragmented, disconnected marketplace, brands need to turn their focus from product to people. They need to build strong relationships between the brand and the people they serve to bring brands and people closer. Now, brands that get closer to the people they serve do three things incredibly well. First of all, they know their customers better than anyone. They know them individually, as people, not as consumers in markets and segments, as people. Second of all, they know how to connect with each and every one of them individually and deeply. And the last thing, and the most important of all, I believe, is they know how to earn their trust in everything they do constantly, all the time. Three simple things. Simple, but far from easy. So let's take a look at those three things in detail. Let's start with connection. For brands to get closer to the people they serve, they need to connect with them on an emotional level. After all, people buy with their heart and then justify with their mind. So features and functions and statistics and numbers are not as important as we may think. When it comes to brand loyalty and brand performance, it turns out that what we know about a brand is far less important than how a brand makes us feel. Far more important. How a brand makes us feel, super important. This is me at age seven. The picture was taken back in the time when the principles of modern marketing, the four P's that were introduced by E. Jerome McCarthy, were first presented, and we all know them, right? It's product, it's price, it's place, and of course, promotion. But what about people? Not a single word. You see, the 1960s were a very different time. It was the golden age of mass marketing, and we were pretty much all the same. We wanted the same things. We wore the same clothes, watched the same shows, ate the same food. We were all the same. And when brands told us to buy something, to buy now, we did. We did what we were told. Well, not everyone. At least not me. As you can see, I had bright red hair, so I didn't look like anyone else, and I was a bit of a monster. At least that's what my parents told me. Repeatedly. I think it was like every day. My poor mother, the stories I could tell you. I was the only kid in my school, in my class, that had red hair. I was the only redhead. The only redhead in my school, the only redhead in the neighborhood where I grew up. So I stood out like a sore thumb. And of course, you know how kids are. They teased me, and they pushed me around. In fact, I was actually bullied. So I was made to feel like I didn't fit in, like I didn't belong, like I was an outcast. And at a very young age, I realized that we're not all the same. That in fact, we're all different and unique in some beautiful way. That there's beauty in our differences. And that that diversity makes up the wonderful beauty of the human race. Now, that realization served me well later in my career, as I helped brands understand how they can differentiate themselves, how they're different from their competitors in a marketplace of Me Too brands. But it also helped me understand that these unique organizations serve a universe of unique customers. Each one with their own needs, their own preferences, their own priorities, and their own personalities. I became aware and obsessed with the concept of personalization and how using our unique differences, we can help people to improve their lives. I also realized at the same time that brands that make us feel like, that treat us like we're all the same, run the risk of making us feel like we don't belong. Like we don't fit in. Like the brand is not for us. Which leads us to the second really important thing in building a strong relationship. Brands that get closer to their customers, know them better than anyone else. They understand them intimately and individually. Now of course, marketers have always used research and surveys to be able to catch a glimpse of their customers and understand how they're different and what they want. But of course, surveys are based on a small sample, a few hundred, maybe a few thousand individuals. So very imprecise. So, getting to know your customer in the old days was difficult. Fortunately for marketers today, there's data to be found everywhere. As we navigate the web and engage on social media, we leave our digital DNA everywhere we go. And smart marketers harvest that data and use it to deliver the right message, at the right time, to the right customer, through the right channel. One of the projects that I worked on in my career that I'm most proud of, one of my greatest achievements I think, is when I worked with a cosmetics brand a few years ago to create a unique beauty guide to help women understand how to choose and use makeup more effectively. I led a fabulous team of very talented people to put together a series of guides with personalized information that was based on the unique characteristics of each customer. We used hair color, an eye color, an eye shape, and even makeup personality. There were millions of unique content combinations. No two guides were alike. Each customer had information just for them. It was technically very difficult. It was a huge achievement to be able to pull it off. But I didn't realize the power of what we created until I started reading the comments from women writing in saying that as a result of that guide, they were able to use makeup for the first time with confidence. That as a result, they felt more beautiful. And that we had managed with the content to be able to change their lives in some small way. And so I learned that working with uniqueness and identifying how people are different and communicating them as individuals could have a profound impact on the relationship between the brand and the customers. But of course, the combination of customer data and a powerful, emotionally charged message can also lead to abuse. Whether it's getting you to buy a product that you don't need, if it's not right for you, or changing your opinion on a sensitive issue, or even influencing the outcome of an election. Which leads us to the third and perhaps the most important component of a strong relationship, earning trust. Brands that get close to the customers, to the people they serve, know how to earn their trust. They know how to do it in everything they do, with every point of contact, with every single experience. After all, people buy from brands they trust. But we know that trust is fragile and needs to be nurtured, it needs to be protected and grown. Brands need to have the best interests of their customers at heart in everything they do. And they need to make sure that the experience that they deliver is flawless and always delivers value. And when I say value, I don't mean 50% off. I don't mean buy one, get one free. I mean true value. I mean a flawless, marvelous experience. I mean entertaining and interesting and engaging content. I mean valuable tips and advice and guidance. I mean a sense of shared experience and community. That will create value. Now, having a relationship, a personal relationship, with each and every one of your customers is difficult. Today, brands serve a huge universe of customers, whether it's a few thousand to millions of customers around the world. So knowing each one personally is not physically possible. And yet, customers expect it. In fact, they demand it. They want to feel as if we know them, as if we understand them, that we know what they want and what they need and that we can deliver on that promise. Which is why the platforms of technology that use artificial intelligence show the promise of helping augment human ability to create strong and lasting relationships. For all the bad press, artificial intelligence may in fact be the best thing that's ever happened to humans. Let me explain. First of all, artificial intelligence beats humans hands down when it comes to analyzing vast quantities of information, making sense of massive amounts of data to see trends and be able to predict behavior. In doing so, they can better understand who we are and help us to make the right choices and to get more enjoyment out of everything we do. It can also help us to connect with our customers. That's really the fascinating part because artificial intelligence actually can detect our state of mind, our emotions, our sentiment. It can analyze text and voice and natural language and images and can detect our emotions and our state of mind and adjust accordingly. Last but not least, when it comes to trust, can we really expect machines to excel where we humans have consistently failed? Well, I think that is truly the interesting part because artificial intelligence can be trained to understand what creates consistent value for customers. It can ensure that everything we do is done consistently and we constantly keep our promises. This strong combination of cognitive technology can allow us to bring our brands and our people closer. Regardless of the technology, we have to keep in mind the important things. First of all, keep all your resources, your energy and your attention and focus it on knowing each one of your customers and treating them as people. Connecting with your customers through a flawless customer experience. And last but not least, continually earn their trust consistently, relentlessly in everything you do. And when you do those three things and you do them exceedingly well, you can build strong relationships that bring your brand and the people you serve closer. Thank you.